Fishing Reports

Loch Lomond.

The springers have arrived!… The first spring salmon from Loch Lomond this season were caught on Saturday 20th April by Ernie East (7lb) (pictured above) and Gary Millar (10lb). Ernie’s fish was taken off the Long Point on the south east shore. After a spirited fight Scott Laird lost a good sized fish off the Claddich shore. The Loch has been fairly quiet recently, but this most welcome news will undoubtedly spur a few more loch boatmen into action.

Balmaha angler Scott Sinclair reports:

‘Had my first day out on Saturday, plenty of sea trout getting caught. I think most of ther lads at Balmaha had some action to report when they came in. I had three, christening my new net with this one which weighed in at 5lbs. It was caught on the north side of Inchfad on a rapala and safely returned. Not a fresh fish but in good condition. Not a bad result for day one, long may it continue!’

River Leven.

Despite good water levels at the weekend, their have been no further reports of fresh fish caught. Today the Leven was dropping back slowly and although the Loch has been topped up we’ll need a few more good downpours to ensure that the gates stay open.

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

And then the rain came….at last! This morning the SEPA website showed a considerable rise in the height of the Loch and that the Leven’s bones have been covered up again for the meantime.

This was the scene at the Haldane Burn today at lunchtime, a bit dirty but we can’t complain. The Loch has now reached a level which should see the gates open and the news from our bailiffs is that all five will open gradually tomorrow between 7am and 3pm. With more rain forecast for next week could this be the break that we….and the springers have been waiting for?

Last weekend fish were seen moving at the Bucks, though were not for giving themselves up. This river regular was spotted recently at the Double Pipes with a good bend in his rod, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

SEPA staff were out on the Leven last week testing their new toy for measuring water flow. Hopefully it’ll have plenty to measure this season.

We don’t often hear from anglers out on the estuary but Robert Alexander reports having landed and returned three fresh sea trout at Cardross making it a worthwhile day out.

Loch Lomond.

The tides out at Balmaha Bay……..any Loch regulars looking at this photo will realise just how low the loch has fallen. No reports of fish into either Voldac or Balmaha but a few regulars have been out after sea trout. Each season at this time there are some really big specimens landed. Who knows where they disappear to for the rest of the year……….

River Endrick.

Colin McFadyen has been busy again improving the upper Endrick. New bridges and stiles that he has constructed will make access much easier. An Endrick work day is planned for Sunday 21st April, meeting at Coolies Lynn Bridge at 10am. Refreshments and gloves etc will be provided. All welcome. Leven cleanup weekend will take place in early May, depending on the weather and water height.

Glasgow Angling Centre Sponsors Spring Catch and Release.

Mr Paul Devlin of Glasgow Angling Centre has again agreed to sponsor our ‘release a springer’ initiative. Every angler who catches and releases a spring salmon before 31 May will receive a £20 tackle voucher from GAC and the LLAIA will increase this to £40. All claims should be forwarded to the committee for decision and must be witnessed and supported by photo or video evidence.

This could be your lucky weekend…..

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com

River Leven.

‘Return’ of the Spring Salmon.

The landing of the first spring salmon of season 2013 was reported on Saturday, 30th of March. The fish, weighing 9lbs, was caught on the fly at the tail end of the Street Run by John Low. It was quickly photographed and returned to the river, indeed a very sporting gesture. John has just recently returned to the Leven after several years absence. Well done sir!

Photographs of the fish have still to reach us, but it’s capture has been verified. It took this Willie Gunn variant brass tube fly.

The first spring salmon last year was fly caught at Stuckie Bridge……also on Easter Saturday! What are the odds of that happening?

Needless to say the word has spread on the system like wildfire….

with a few hardy souls braving the cold easterly wind to wet a line…

Where there’s one there’s bound to be  more……..

Loch Lomond.

Only a few Loch boatmen ventured out over the holiday weekend. The bailiffs reported seeing less than a dozen craft each day. Still very cold on the water, but the news of the first spring salmon will encourage a few more anglers out of hibernation.

Next month should see spring fish begin to enter the Loch in numbers. The bank holiday weekends at the beginning and end of May usually produce salmon and big sea trout to boats on the troll. After the cold winter, it’ll probably be a while before the water warms up sufficiently to please fly fishers.

Due to the lack of rain recently the Loch is very low, much lower than some have seen for years. So if you do head out, be mindful that underwater hazards that don’t normally pose a problem will be much nearer to the surface. We all know that high water isn’t good for the Loch boatman’s cause, so at least when the heavy rains do come it’ll take a bit longer for the Loch to fill up…………

JR

Contact Reports at : reports@lochlomondangling.com